Shopping for ideas

One thing I’ve observed about myself is that the best photos from a given assignment often come at the end of the take. For lack of a better term I’ll call this the “boutique effect”. Like when you walk around one of those cute little stores and on the fifth orbit you discover something completely missed…completely unexpected.

This same orbit often happens when I’m shooting. The more times I circle an idea the more likely I’ll discover something completely missed…completely unexpected. I think this is because once I’ve worked through the obvious things I have to look harder to see something new. During the first orbit I’m usually working through my inventory of past successes (some people might call this style). The magic happens on those final trips around the idea.

I’m not alone in this observation. Many authors of books on creativity suggest tossing out the first half dozen solutions you come up when problem solving. I’m not ready to throw them out yet but I’ve learned to pay special attention to those last few that trickle out.